GAZA/AMMAN: In Gaza, 15 individuals lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike targeting an ambulance, which the Israeli military claimed was associated with Hamas.
Concurrently, Washington’s top diplomat was scheduled to discuss Arab demands for a ceasefire during a meeting in Jordan today (Saturday).
The Israeli strike hit an ambulance that was part of a convoy transporting injured Palestinians to Gaza’s largest hospital, al-Shifa, as reported by health officials in the Hamas-controlled region on Friday.
Ashraf al-Qidra, the health ministry spokesperson, stated that upon their arrival at al-Shifa, (Israel) directly targeted the convoy’s second vehicle, resulting in a tragic incident that claimed the lives of 15 individuals and left more than 60 wounded.
Israel’s military asserted that they had identified and struck an ambulance “used by Hamas” within the conflict zone, resulting in the death of several Hamas fighters. The military emphasized that the area was a battle zone and had called upon civilians in the area to evacuate southward for their own safety.
Hamas official Izzat El Reshiq denied allegations of their fighters’ presence, and the Israeli military provided no evidence to support its claim that the ambulance was linked to Hamas, but stated its intention to release additional information.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the accounts from either side.
Israel had previously ordered all civilians to leave the northern part of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, and relocate to the southern part of the enclave, which continued to be targeted with airstrikes.
Gaza’s already dire living conditions further deteriorated, with a scarcity of food, residents resorting to drinking salty water, collapsing medical services, and over 9,250 Palestinians reported killed by Gaza health officials.
The UN humanitarian office, OCHA, estimated that nearly 1.5 million out of Gaza’s 2.3 million population were internally displaced.
Late on Friday, Gaza health officials reported that several Palestinians were killed and injured in an Israeli strike on a school where hundreds of people were seeking shelter. Exact figures for the casualties were not provided by Gaza health officials, and the Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident.
